You may know Michelle Danner as a film director. She has helmed six features, most recently the 2023 historical drama Miranda’s Victim, which was Donald Sutherland’s final film, available to view on Hulu.
Danner is also one of Hollywood’s most respected acting coaches. The Michelle Danner Acting Studio and Los Angeles Acting Conservatory in Culver City has been going strong for 30 years, with a dozen instructors and roughly 100 students at a time learning all aspects of filmmaking, both in front of and behind the camera.
She teaches a master class on her modality, known as “The Golden Box,” all around the world, but will be doing it in person on September 29th in Los Angeles. Danner will also be teaching her “Breaking Into The Industry” seminar and an online class for actors on Sundays. She took a break from her busy schedule to chat with us from her home in Santa Monica.

How did you become an acting teacher?
I started as an actress, and I also started to put shows together way back in the ’90s, when I moved to Los Angeles, I was directing these shows at the Tiffany Theater on Sunset Boulevard, and a lot of actors were asking me to coach them for their auditions. I had studied with Uta Hagen and Stella Adler, and I was always fascinated by acting.
The questions that I always ask my students are: What is a great actor? What is great acting? What is a great acting moment?
I was fascinated by the answers to that, to be able to go in-depth to answer what that means. That led me to want to teach, to analyze performances, to understand acting that moves audiences.
Was there a pivotal moment when you realized this was your calling?
Yes. It was 1992, I think. A lot of people were asking me to coach them. I had three auditions that day. It was going to take me to Pasadena, to Hollywood and somewhere in Long Beach. I was going to zigzag all over the place. Meanwhile, I had seven people call me for help, and I had to make a decision. I called my agent, and I said, “I’m not going to do this.”
That was the turning point for me. I stopped going on auditions and focused more on teaching.

How did that lead to you opening up your teaching practice?
Everything was organic. It was just based on demand. It wasn’t my decision to go, “We’re going to open this.” It was people asking, “Can you teach us?”
One class started, and the second class started, and then I put together a class where I would talk about all the different techniques because everybody was always confused about them, Meisner, Stanislavski, Stella Adler, so I put together a class that I call “The Golden Box.”
It symbolizes the actor’s toolbox, where every tool that they learn, every insight, they can put in that box. Then I added to it. Not only are these technical tools that help you to break down a script and create a character but also, every lesson that you learn when you book a job, when you’re on set or working in the theater, everything that you learn about you, how you operate, goes into that toolbox. Then, every lesson you learn about life also goes into that toolbox.
It’s your unique golden box, and only you have the key to it. That’s your craft. It’s how you start to make choices when you work as an actor.

I get that in theory, but how does that manifest in real life? How does someone access that?
I would approach it the same way that you would approach going to medical school or going to law school or learning anything that you want to make your metier in life. The idea is to be a well-rounded actor. Take classes, read a lot of different acting books and understand a lot of different approaches to acting.
It’s seeing where and how you can expand, you know? Of course, there’s also understanding script analysis and camera work. What happens if you’re in a medium shot or a close-up? A lot of great actors are instinctive, but it’s great to understand the craft of it. It behooves you to have a deep knowledge of what acting is about.
How do you work with people who are just starting, as opposed to those who have been with you for a while?
First of all, we customize our approach to every student. Not everybody comes to us with the same background, and not everybody is ready to take certain classes.
I hate this thing of everybody coming to the middle and learning the same thing. Everyone is unique, so not two or three people in our school will have the same schedule. It’s very individual. Then we expose them to these different teachers and techniques because I believe in having a vast knowledge of different ideologies and methodologies. That’s the first step.

What about when the different methodologies collide? Like Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg?
I have to say that I think both are valid. I did scenes for Stella Adler, and I’ll tell you that I used my personal life. I would have never told her that because she would have yelled because she was just a great proponent of using your imagination.
I didn’t study with Lee Strasberg, but I’m sure that people used their imagination when they worked in front of him, so one feeds into the other. You can start using something that you know propels you into the moment that has to do with your personal life, and then you’re in the imaginary circumstances that are given to you. I believe that you accept everything that comes to you.
I saw this Judi Dench interview where she says, “I only trust my instincts, nothing else.” After you study technique for 40 years, sure you trust your instincts. (Laughs) You have to have that base to be able to be to be trustworthy.

You mentioned that you got into teaching because you were directing, and now you’re directing again. What led to you directing films?
I think at the core of it is a desire to tell stories. Storytelling is at the core of everything that I do, whether I teach act or whether I direct. When you direct, of course, you get to sign the painting.
I would think, also, that the teaching and the directing would go hand in hand at this point because you know how to talk to actors on set, and then you’re able, as a teacher, to go back and say, “Well, if you’re on a film set and you’re working with this, this is what you to expect.”
Absolutely. I feel like as a teacher, aren’t you helping someone else tell their story? So yes, it goes hand in hand. There’s no question about it. I always tell actors to pick things that scare them and get them out of their comfort zone. If you work in class and work on your technique, you’ll be prepared for what showbiz will throw at you. It’s all about preparation.

If you’re interested in learning more about Michelle’s acting techniques and classes, visit Michelledanner.com.
Thinking about joining Casting Networks? Sign up for a free trial today!
You may also like: